Wardrobe trunk



H. N. WILLIAMS WARDROBE TRUNK June 26, 1934.

Filed July 6, 1953 III/VII" 741111111111 [NVENTR zls ATT RNEY Patented June 26, 1934 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICEY 6 Claims.

This invention relates to wardrobe trunks and has for its object the provision of a generally improved and more satisfactory trunk of the socalled wardrobe type.

Another object is the provision of such a trunk so designed and constructed that it will not mar or scratch the floor when being opened or closed.

Still another object is the provision of such a trunk having a compartment formed on the inner side of a closure section and arranged so that when the closure section is opened, the compartment is in convenient position for access to the articles contained therein, and is at a convenient height above the floor so that a person need not stoop over so far as would be necessary if it rested directly upon the oor.

A further object is the provision of improved means for supporting andmaintaining such a compartment in proper position, and particularly of supporting means automatically operated by the act of opening or closing the closure section.

To these and other ends the invention resides in certain improvements and combinations of parts, all as will be hereinafter more fully described, the novel features being pointed out in the claims at the end of the specification.

In the drawing: Y

Fig. 1 is a vertical section taken substantially centrally through a trunk constructed in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the invention showing it in closed position;

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary View of the same with the trunk closure in open position; i

Fig. 3 is an elevation of a fragment of the trunk showing the supporting leg in normal closed position;

Fig. 4 is a vertical section taken substantially centrally through the parts shown in Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is a section taken substantially on the line 5 5 of Fig. 4, and

Fig. 6 is a section through the pivot of the supporting leg.

The same reference numerals throughout the several views indicate the same parts.

Referring now to the drawing, the trunk in the preferred embodiment of the invention comprises a main body portion 10 sometimes referred to as the wardrobe portion of the trunk, and a closure section l1 pivotally connected to the main body 10 as by means of the hinges 12 having their axes of rotation arranged substantially horizontally at a point materially above the floor level or bottom of the section 10, so that the closure 11 may be turned downwardly and outwardly from the closed position shown in Fig. 1 to the open position shown in Fig. 2.

A supplemental closure 13 may also be hinged at 14 to the upper rear portion of the body 10 if desired, to be swung up and back for addil tional access to the top of the wardrobe section of the trunk.

On the inner surface of the closure section 11 are formed one or more compartments for holding various articles. They are constituted, for example, by the cross partitions 20 and 21`and 65 the longitudinal partition 22, and there is a cover flap 23 lying against the free edges of the partitions to hold the contents of the compartments within them until the cover flap 23 is opened.

It is to be noted that both of the closures l1 70` and 13 of the trunk are hinged to the main body 10 at points materially above the floor line. Thus when the parts are opened, there is no scraping movement on the oor, so that the oor is not scratched or marred in any manner. Furthermore, the hinging of the closure 11 at a point materially above the lloor supports one end of this closure when it is in the open position shown in Fig. 2, so that the compartments on the inner surface of the closure section are at a convenient elevation above the floor level, and a person wishing to pack or unpack articles from these compartments does not have to stoop over inconveniently to such a low position as would be necessary if the closure were hinged to the body at or near the floor level.

The present invention provides mechanism in addition to the hinges 12 for adequately supporting the closure 11 when it is in open position, to keep it substantiauy horizontal. This meehanism comprises a leg or support 30 hinged at one end at 31 to one end of a channel-shaped metallic member 33 forming a groove or recess in the outer surface of the closure 11. The leg Y 30 is of such a length that when the closure is 95 opened, the leg may be turned down to the positio-n shown in Fig. 2 and. will rest upon the floor, holding the closure 11 substantially horizontal as plainly indicated in the drawing. When the closure is closed, however, the leg 30 100 may be swung about its pivot 31 to a position within the channel 33 so that it is substantially ush with the outer surface of the trunk. The edges of the channel 33 project out slightly beyond the surface of the leg 30 when the latter 105 is closed, to protect it from any damaging contact while the trunk is being transported.

Preferably operating means is provided for automatically shifting the leg 30 as the closure is opened or closed. For example, the leg 30 has 110 a curved bracket 35 iixed to it near its hinged end and extending through a suitable slot 36 in the bottom of the channel member 33. The inner end of the bracket 35 is pivoted at 37 to a link 38 the opposite end of which is pivoted at 39 to a bracket 40 fixed to the main section 10 of the trunk. The link 38 and bracket 35 operate in a cutout portion or cavity 45 formed in the partition 22 and covered on each side by cover plates 46 secured to the closure member 11 and to the partition 22 as best shown in Fig. 5, so that these plates 46 in effect constitute and can be considered as a part of the partition;

As the closure section 11 of the trunk is moved to the closed position shown in Fig. 1, the link 38, acting upon the bracket 35, causes the leg 30 to shift to closed position in which it is substantially flush with the outer surface of the trunk. As the closure portion 1l is swung downwardly and outwardly to its open position, however, the link 38 pulls on the bracket 35 and swings the leg 30 outwardly to aV position substantially perpendicular to the closure 1l, so that the leg, together with the hinges 12, serves to support the closure 11 substantially horizontally in its normal open position shown in Fig. 2, at a material elevation above the iioor.

While one embodiment ofthe invention has been disclosed, it is to be understood that the inventive idea may be carried out in a number of ways. This application is, therefore, not to be limited to the precise details described, but is intended to cover all variations andmodications thereof falling within the spirit of the invention or the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A wardrobe trunk comprising a main trunk section, a closure hinged to said section for swinging movement about a substantially horizontal axis above the bottom of said main section and extending upwardly from said axis when closed so that it may be swung outwardly and downwardly when opening the trunk, and auxiliary supporting means for holding said closure in substantially horizontal position when it is opened with respect to said main section.

2. A wardrobe trunk comprising a main section, a closure section pivotally connected to said main section near the lower edge of said closure section, said closure section extending upwardly from said pivotal connection when closed and being arranged to be swung outwardly and downwardly when the trunk is opened, and supporting means pivotally connected to said closure section and adapted to be swung from a position substantially flush with said closure section,- when said closure section is closed, to a position projecting materially from said closure section for resting on a supporting surface and supporting said closure section, when said closure section is opened.

3. A wardrobe trunk comprising a main section, a closure section hinged thereto for swinging movement about a substantially horizontal axis spaced materially above the bottom of said main section, said yclosure section extending upwardly from said axis when closed and being arranged to be swung outwardly and downwardly to open the trunk, and a leg pivotally secured to said closure section for swinging with respect thereto about an axis materially spaced from the hinge axis of said closure section.

4. A trunk comprising a main section, a closure section pivotally connected to said main section for swinging opening and closing movements about a substantially horizontal axis, a supporting leg pivotally connected to said closure section for swinging about an axis substantially parallel to and spaced from said rst mentioned axis, and means operated by the swinging movements of said closure section for swinging said leg.

5. A trunk comprising a main section, a closure section hingedly connected thereto for swinging about asubstantially horizontal axis spaced materially above the bottom of said main section, said closure section extending upwardly from said laxis when in normally closed position and being arranged to be swung outwardly and downwardly to an open position, said hinge connection serving to support one end of said closure section when said closure section is in open position, a leg pivot-ally connected to said closure section at a point spaced from said hinge connection for supporting said closure section substantially horizontally when it is in open position, and linkage means connected to said main section for automatically moving said leg to an eiTective position when s-aid closure section is opened and to an ineffective position substantially flush with said closure section when said closure section is closed.Y

6. A wardrobe trunk comprising a main section, a closure section pivotally connected thereto, a partition on the inner side of said closure section to subdivide said inner side into a plurality of compartments, said partition being hollow, auxiliary supporting means movably connected to said closure section, and operating means movable within said hollow partition for shifting said auxiliary supporting means in accordance with opening and closing movements of said closure section.

HERBERT N. WILLIAMS. 

